Woods School

I am impressed by the hard work the 4th graders have done to learn and memorize their multiplication facts! While most know all of the facts, they still need to keep practicing to work on speed and accuracy. Students have found out how important it is to be quick and correct as they learn how to multiply bigger numbers, such as 2, 3 and 4 digit numbers, by a 1 digit number! Students have also become quicker at their division facts with our newest Mad Minutes! I might have something new for Mad Minutes coming up, so keep practicing at home!

We have paused lessons in our reading textbook to start another novel, Poppy by AVI. This is one or my favorite novels and the students are eager each day to find out what is happening to Poppy and her family! We focus on vocabulary for each chapter and also comprehension questions. Students will have the opportunity to dissect an owl pellet at the end of the novel — Fun! If you don't know what it is, make sure to ask your 4th grader. I am sure they will be glad to tell you!

This month our focus is the solar system. Students have begun working on planet reports to the class. A note was sent home explaining the project, however as long as students are working hard in class, no homework will be necessary.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, so the members of the 4th Grade Valentine's Day Party Planning Crew will begin their work the first week in February. Everyone is excited to see what fun games, snacks, and other activities they will plan for our party!

Students worked hard in January for Ricardo Cardenza's Card and Coin Company in order to learn their basic multiplication facts. Facts were learned individually, each with their own special strategies for memorization. In addition to learning the facts, students have played many games such as Around the World, Flash Card War, and BINGO. Our upcoming lessons will focus on division and using multiplication and division for problem solving.

Our class is extremely proud of the anthology winners! Congratulations to all who participated! We are now creating animal rescue stories using plot lines. Each story must have five paragraphs and use descriptive words for the main character and the setting. Students are working very hard to make these the best stories they have written yet! Soon their pieces will be posted on our bulletin board outside of the library.

In social studies, students have been listening to stories about Wisconsin Forestry. We have learned why there are dark marks on birch trees (legend tells) and all about lumberjacks and the funny lingo they used on the job. Currently, in science we have started our study of weather. The students are eager to learn about low and high pressures as well as effects of the sunlight on the temperature. Perhaps we have some furture metorologists in our class!

Happy Valentine's Day,

Mrs. Smerchek

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday break. It was a well needed break for all! Ski time is now here and we are all very excited! Please don't forget to bring in money and notes on time! It is important for me to have a note if your child is not coming back to school on the bus after skiing.

Scores on our timed math drills have dramatically increased from the start of November! Great job students! We started with basic addition problems and have now moved on to basic subtraction. In math class we are beginning our unit on multiplication. We will be working closely with a fictional company called Cardenza Cards. We will focus on different facts each day, so the students will be swift with their multiplication in no time!

At the end of December, we finished the novel Stuart Little and watched the movie. The students were surprised at how many differences there were between the two! In January we will return back to our reading textbook. The kids will mainly be focusing on their writing pieces for the Southern Lakes Anthology.  This year's theme is "Life Can Be Strange." Look for more information to come!

In science, we recently finished our unit on the Food Guide Pyramid. The students learned how much of each food group they should consume each day. They played the Food Guide Pyramid "Go Fish" game and also created a menu for a boy their age. In small groups they decided what he should eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a small snack.  This activity really helped students understand all the important foods they need to have each day in order to grow healthy and strong! Starting in January we will begin a social studies unit on Wisconsin Forestry.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it is December already! The fourth grade class has been making great strides in their academics this year. I am so impressed by students' oral reading skills, improvements in math, and their determination to succeed! Way to go kids!

Every morning the fourth graders have been doing timed math drills. Their goal each day is to beat their score from the day before. If they beat their score, they receive a "brag tag". Once they "defeat" the drill (by getting all 50 problems in 1 minutes) they receive a new type of drill. Students are starting with basic addition problems and many will soon be on to basic subtraction. Recalling these facts quickly is essential for our more difficult problems in math class.

At the end of November we started reading the novel, Stuart Little, by E.B. White. Each student has their own packet (personally designed front covers) which contains all of the assignments for the novel. Many students have seen the movie, but have not read the book. At the end of reading, we will discuss the similarities and differences, as well as actually watch the movie in class. This book offers a rich vocabulary that requires the students to brush up on their dictionary skills. I have even noticed vocabulary words being used in everyday conversation, which is very impressive!

In social students and science, we are learning about the United States landforms. In December we will narrow down to specific landforms in Wisconsin. The students have learned how to make their own flashcard games for studying vocabulary words, which has helped them learn words such as basin, plateau, plan, hill, mountain and geography.

Happy Holidays!